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Free League Publishing and Skybound launch Invincible – Superhero Roleplaying

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Invincible – Superhero Roleplaying, the tabletop roleplaying game by Free League Publishing and Skybound Entertainment, is now live on Kickstarter.

This latest RPG from fan-favorite and multiple award-winning publisher Free League is based on Skybound’s groundbreaking comic book series Invincible by Robert Kirkman, Cory Walker, and Ryan Ottley, which is also a hit animated series on Prime Video.

Early backers who make a pledge for a physical reward within the first 48 hours of the Kickstarter launch will receive an exclusive cloth patch bearing their choice of the Invincible suit design or the symbol of the Viltrum Empire, home of Omni-Man, at no additional cost.

Backers can also download a completely free Quickstart PDF to get a taste of the game right away. This Quickstart will also be launched as a free content module on the Foundry virtual tabletop during the course of the campaign.

The Kickstarter will include a comprehensive Core Rulebook – in a standard and an exclusive Collector’s Edition – and a boxed Starter Set, both with illustrations by Cory Walker and Ryan Ottley and graphic design by Johan Nohr (MÖRK BORG).

If unlocked as a stretch goal in this campaign, Skybound will print a limited run of Invincible #1 with a brand-new variant cover drawn and inked by Todd Nauck and colored by Matt Herms. If unlocked, all physical pledge backers will receive one copy of this unique item, which is exclusive to this Kickstarter campaign and will never be printed again.

The Invincible universe is filled with everything we love about superhero stories – costumes and capes, epic brawls across cityscapes, sidekicks, team-ups, alien invasions, witty banter, alternate dimensions, and much more – though these familiar elements are often subverted in surprising ways. Any trope can exist, and any trope can be turned on its head.

In this action-packed storytelling experience, players take on the role of superheroes in their own corners of the Invincible universe. Whether you choose to play an established character from the comic or create your own, this game is the story of what happens to your superheroes – the protagonists of your own saga. 

You might be a wisecracking speedster, a super-genius inventor, a grizzled vigilante, a shape-shifting alien, or a high-flying symbol of hope. Whatever you play and wherever you go, you’ll have to juggle relationships with patrols, face tough challenges and choices, and learn how to use your powers… and learn more about yourself in the process.

Who knows? You might be INVINCIBLE.

Invincible – Superhero Roleplaying Core Rulebook Key Features:

  • Your Superhero: Instructions for how to create your very own hero.
  • Powers & Talents: Details on superpowers, talents, and drawbacks that signify what kind of hero you’re playing.
  • Action & Combat: Rules for combat, damage, recovery, adversaries, and challenges.
  • The Invincible Universe: A primer providing guidance on how to capture the feel of the setting, and descriptions of key locations and organizations.
  • Running the Game: Guidance intended for the GM about how to prepare and run a game session.
  • Campaign Play: Tools to help set up campaigns, events and encounters, and non-player characters. 
  • Dramatis Personae: Descriptions and statistics for dozens of key characters from the Invincible universe.

DC x Sonic the Hedgehog #5, and honestly the miniseries as a whole, is the comic book equivalent of a “good hang”

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Review: DC x Sonic the Hedgehog #5

DC x Sonic the Hedgehog #5, and honestly the miniseries as a whole, is the comic book equivalent of a “good hang”. The various bursts of colorful energy, chaos emeralds, and plot to defeat Darkseid and save the multiverse is just a frame for fun banter, relationships, action team-ups, and let’s face it, an excuse for Team Sonic members to wear DC Comics superhero costumes. After the previous two issues showed the Sonic heroes in the DC Universe and vice versa, Ian Flynn, Adam Bryce Thomas, and Matt Herms put everything together as the two hero teams combine forces to take down Darkseid once and for all.

Other than Super Sonic deflecting an Omega beam and sending it right back at Darkseid, the best part of DC x Sonic the Hedgehog #5 are the beginning and the end. The different heroes filling in each other on their adventures on the Sonic and DC Comics Earths is like when you get separated on a night out and regale your friends with crazy shenanigans. I especially adored Amy Rose’s enthusiasm for the Amazons and Themiscyra with Thomas drawing big gestures, and Wonder Woman reassuring the pink hedgehog that she will be part of the sisterhood. On the flipside, there’s the terse back and forth between Batman and Shadow about the happenings in Gotham featuring dry humor that the late Kevin Conroy and Keanu Reeves would excel and sinking their teeth into. And, of course, there’s the big fun chili dog featuring finale with Flynn leaving the door just slightly ajar for a sequel even though you can’t get more high stakes than Darkseid. I definitely think individual character crossovers could work though.

Being a regular artist on the IDW Sonic the Hedgehog series, of course, Adam Bryce Thomas nails the Sonic characters, but I enjoy the manga influenced take on the DC superheroes while still keeping the iconic Jack Kirby designs for Darkseid and the various Apokoliptians that pop up in the series. The style is an olive branch for younger readers who may have grown up on manga and not Big Two superheroes, but maybe are getting into the DC characters via the Webtoons, the recent Superman film, or hell even Fortnite. Also, this type of visual presentation fits in with the physics defying world of the Sonic video games although chaos emeralds are definitely something that Eclipso would be into, or Thanos if for some reason Marvel lost the rights to the Infinity stones.

While temperatures soar and outside world continues to plunge into ideological darkness, the DC x Sonic the Hedgehog has been a nice escape as two, well-matched teams of wholesome heroes work together to save the universe and learn something about themselves through their experiences in different settings. I could read Ian Flynn’s dialogue for the interactions between these iconic characters all day, and Thomas and Herms bring the candy colored action that makes you feel like you’re playing video games in your neighbor’s basement after a long hot day. The recent live action Sonic the Hedgehog films are a great way to introduce kids to the superhero genre, and this comic kind of bridges the gap between those movies and something like the DC Animated Universe or even the vast never ending world of Detective Comics Comics.

Story: Ian Flynn Art: Adam Bryce Thomas
Colors: Matt Herms Letters: Becca Carey
Story: 7.6 Art: 8.2 Overall: 7.9 Recommendation: Buy

DC Comics provided Graphic Policy with a FREE copy for review

Purchase: Zeus Comics – Kindle

Snootchie Bootchies! Archie comes to the Quick Stop in Archie Meets Jay & Silent Bob

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SNOOCHIE BOOCHIES, ARCHIE FANS!! Yes, you read that right—acclaimed writer, director, actor, producer, and podcaster Kevin Smith takes the teens you know and love from Riverdale on the wildest ride of their lives. What’s supposed to be a summer job at Quick Stop for Archie Andrews turns into so much more; from a budding friendship with co-worker Randal Graves, crashing a Pussycats concert, a potential new love interest, Jay and Silent Bob being, well, Jay and Silent Bob, and a musical number that will be burned into your brain forever. Plus, could Jay and Silent Bob even help Archie to finally choose between Betty and Veronica? SNOOGANS!!

Story: Kevin Smith
Art: Fernando Ruiz
Inks: Rich Koslowski
Colors: Matt Herms
Letters: Jack Morelli

Get your copy now! To find a comic shop near you, visit http://www.comicshoplocator.com or call 1-888-comicbook or digitally and online with the links below.

Zeus Comics
Kindle

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The wholesomeness of Archie Comics and the crudity of the View Askewniverse come together in Archie Meets Jay & Silent Bob

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Archie Meets Jay & Silent Bob

The wholesomeness of Archie Comics’ Riverdale and the (hilarious) crudity of the View Askewniverse come together and are a match made in Heaven in Archie Meets Jay & Silent Bob. Set after the event of Clerks III, Kevin Smith, Fernando Ruiz, Rich Koslowski, and Matt Herms make Archie Andrews the newest Quick Stop clerk after Dante’s passing. Archie immediately brings the drama and love triangles of Riverdale to Red Bank, New Jersey while Jay and Silent Bob bring the (legal) weed and good times with everything crossing over in a massive Josie and the Pussycats concert. Full of callbacks to both properties, stoner comedy hijinks, unexpected pairings, and pop culture references, Archie Meets Jay & Silent Bob is laugh out loud funny and a successful intercompany crossover. (You actually get to kind of sort of see what would happen if Jay and Silent Bob sold weed to the kids in Shermer, Illinois.)

Archie Meets Jay & Silent Bob works as a comic because both universes are similar: slice of life mundanity, but with the occasional heightened moment that takes it into genre territory. Archie Comics are mostly about a teenager deciding what girl to date, but there’s also magic and superpowers going on while the View Askewniverse has angels, God that looks a lot like Alanis Morrisette, and all the weird stuff that goes down in the Jay and Silent Bob duology. But the films set in that universe also tackle mortality, bisexuality, and the shittiness of working a retail job. Both universes are colorful and memorable in their own ways, which makes them both a perfect fit for comics where characters can pull facial expression that would destroy the career of both actor on this side of Jim Carrey.

I love how Smith slowly introduces the more PG-13/R-rated elements of the View Askewniverse world into the comic before setting off Jay like a foul mouthed fire cracker and running for cover while Archie Andrews tries to process the comedic stylings of Jason Mewes’ pencil and ink avatar. He and Ruiz also make fun, little connections between both universes like connecting Jughead to Alyssa Jones from Chasing Amy, which is even funnier if you remember Ewell in that movie talking about Jughead and Archie being gay lovers. Some of the plot points and moments seem self-indulgent and like Kevin Smith recycling his greatest hits, but adding the Archie elements makes them feel fresh and new like a Veronica Lodge-infused take on another Veronica bringing a Quick Stop clerk lasagna. The View Askew characters might be quirky, but there is an earthiness compared to the walking superlatives that are the Archie characters. But Josie and the Pussycats brings them all together, and gives Smith and Fernando Ruiz a chance to riff on big, expensive contemporary concert tours.

One underrated thing about Archie Meets Jay & Silent Bob is how much of a fit the classic Archie house style works for the View Askewniverse characters courtesy of Fernando Ruiz, Koslowski, and Herms whose flat colors make everything pop up from weed smoke clouds to stage lights and Blockchain and Elias’ makeup. (I love that Randal compares Elias to Chappell Roan and wonder what his favorite track is.) Cartoony not realistic is the best approach to these characters, and that’s what Jim Mahfood and Phil Hester did in their View Askew comics. The transition from the “alternative” stylings of Mahfood and Hester to the power pop of Ruiz also mirrors Kevin Smith the artist’s transition from indie filmmaker to nerd-friendly promoter, who still makes indie films. Also, the freckles, cross hatching, and wholesome color palette of Archie softens some of the dirtier jokes while making them even funnier because that’s Archie from the supermarket shelf digests wandering in a haze of smoke at the store formerly known as RST Video, or Jay is getting outsmoked by Riverdale’s own drug dealer and freaking out at the Josie and the Pussycats concert. The Archie house style is versatile for big gestures and slapstick moments, and there’s plenty of that in the book. There’s also a denseness to the humor in Ruiz and Rich Koslowski’s line art in Archie Meets Jay & Silent Bob , and I definitely want to go back and check out all the background references I missed the first time.

Archie Meets Jay & Silent Bob brings big laughs and utter chaos that are much needed in these bleak times. Reading this book is like having a milkshake and/or a blunt with your strangest friends that you have the most amazing times with, and there’s a lot of heart beneath the clever jokes and f-bombs.

Story: Kevin Smith Art: Fernando Ruiz
Inks: Rich Koslowski Colors: Matt Herms Letters: Jack Morelli
Story: 9.3 Art: 9.1 Overall: 9.2 Recommendation: Buy

Archie Comics provided Graphic Policy with a FREE copy for review

Purchase: Zeus Comics – Kindle

New History of the DC Universe #1 Resurrects the Classic Guidebook

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New History of the DC Universe #1

In celebration of 90 years of DC, super fan and writer Mark Waid turns back time to the very beginning of the DC Universe in a four-issue miniseries drawn by some of DC’s greatest artists and told by the newest chronicler of time, Barry Allen, the Flash! In our debut issue, Barry takes us from the very birth of the DC Universe to the rise of the Justice Society. The Golden Age of heroes begins here! New History of the DC Universe #1 takes us from the beginning of creation to Superman’s escape from Krypton.

New History of the DC Universe #1 is an attempt to compile a single, clear, timeline of the DC Universe from the beginning to who knows when. While not so much a flowing narrative, Waid treats the series like an updated guidebook. Years ago, we regularly got guidebooks giving fans loads of information about characters and more. This feels more like that breaking down key moments and the characters involved. And it’s a deep dive that delivers a large amount of obscure characters and events. Waid does a solid job of bringing together recent editions to DC’s mythos for what had already been established decades before.

The art by Todd Nauck and Jerry Ordway is good. With color by Matt Herms and John Kalisz and lettering by Todd Klein, the comic looks good and it’s interesting to see the designs over the years and all of the characters. This isn’t a comic full of action but each page has interesting visuals and layouts showing off the history and key players and events. It’s not flashy but it is intriguing.

Where New History of the DC Universe #1 really stands out is what comes after the tour through time. A definitive timeline is laid out including what comics you’d find references or events themselves. That’s written by Dave Wielgosz with research by Wielgosz and Waid and a special thanks to John Wells. Here’s hoping DC takes advantage of this listing to give readers an easy way to explore every reference highlighted.

While it’s nice to finally get a definitive history of the DC Universe, New History of the DC Universe #1 is just one slice of an existence spanning breakdown of DC’s history. If you really want to know the history now, it’s worth checking out but this is one that’s probably best to wait for the likely eventual beautiful hardback collection. New History of the DC Universe #1 is an interesting debut overall but is a rather bland presentation of the history that’s really only for the diehard fans invested in continuity.

Story: Mark Waid Art: Todd Nauck, Jerry Ordway
Color: Matt Herms, John Kalisz Letterer: Todd Klein
Story: 7.0 Art: 7.0 Overall: 7.0 Recommendation: Read

DC Comics provided Graphic Policy with a FREE copy for review

Purchase: Zeus Comics – Kindle

Archie Comics Expands its Variant Cover Program to Fans

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Archie Comics is expanding its exclusive variant cover program to consumers with July’s Archie Meets Jay & Silent Bob one-shot comic book, written by acclaimed filmmaker Kevin Smith, creator of the “View Askewniverse” stable of characters originating in his Clerks film series. In the new initiative, readers can create a unique custom cover with their own artwork or a custom piece by one of Archie’s legendary artists. The offer is available to everyone, with initial art concepts due by May 21. 

Archie has a robust ongoing variant cover program for comic shop retailers, where they purchase a print run of comics with cover art exclusive to their store. This will be the first time the opportunity for these memorable and rare keepsake collectibles is extended to individuals. Further details are listed below.

The regular retail edition of Archie Meets Jay & Silent Bob goes on sale July 9 everywhere comic books are sold, and features interior artwork by Archie mainstays Fernando Ruiz, Rich Koslowski, Matt Herms, and Jack Morelli.

  • Minimum order is 300 copies at $4 each for a total cost of $1,200. This is per cover and includes printing, packing, and shipping.
  • Customer provides their own artwork. The artwork may include characters from the ARCHIE MEETS JAY & SILENT BOB comic, the artist, and/or their family and friends.
  • If an artist is needed, Archie Comics will provide one for an additional $700.
  • All art is subject to review and approval by Archie Comics.
  • Concept sketches are required and due for review by 5/21. This is to ensure the cover is not overly graphic and is respectful of the original characters.
  • Once the concept is approved, payment for the order must be completed to proceed. 
  • Final high resolution art files are due by 5/30.
  • Final artwork will be printed as a cover of Archie Meets Jay & Silent Bob. This title is rated for mature readers.
  • All final printed copies will be mailed to the address provided by the customer.
  • One copy of the main cover of Archie Meets Jay & Silent Bob signed by Kevin Smith will come with your order.
Archie Meets Jay & Silent Bob Custom Cover

Kevin Smith and Archie join forces for Archie Meets Jay and Silent Bob

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Acclaimed filmmaker, director, writer, podcaster, and comic book fan Kevin Smith brings his talents to the world of Archie Comics in July with an oversized one-shot comic crossover, and a few of his friends are coming along for the ride: Jay and Silent Bob! 

Archie Meets Jay and Silent Bob #1 — written by Smith with art by Archie mainstays Fernando Ruiz, Rich Koslowski, Matt Herms, and Jack Morelli — barrels into comic shops on July 9 — just in time for the year’s biggest pop culture event, San Diego Comic Con. The crossover the world has been waiting for kicks off when Archie gets a summer job working at Quick Stop alongside none other than Randal Graves, who debuted in Smith’s seminal 1994 film Clerks. But when Jay and Silent Bob hit the scene, Archie’s life — and all of Riverdale — only get wilder from there. Written in the hilarious, sharp style that defined his films, Archie Meets Jay and Silent Bob #1 is a must-read for fans of Smith’s work and diehard Archie readers looking for a more mature and biting interpretation of the classic characters.

Following in the footsteps of now-legendary Archie crossovers like Archie Meets Predator, Archie Meets Ramones, and more, Archie Meets Jay and Silent Bob #1 presents readers with an unlikely, historic, and completely bonkers pairing — in partnership with Smith himself. The end result, courtesy of Smith’s sly wit, takes Archie, Jay, Silent Bob, and the rest of the gang through a raucous 48 pages of hijinks as they crash a Pussycats concert, meet a potential new love interest, and blaze through a musical number that will be burned into your brain forever. 

SNOOCHIE BOOCHIES, ARCHIE FANS!! Yes, you read that right—acclaimed writer, director, actor, producer, and podcaster Kevin Smith takes the teens you know and love from Riverdale on the wildest ride of their lives. What’s supposed to be a summer job at Quick Stop for Archie Andrews turns into so much more; from a budding friendship with co-worker Randal Graves, crashing a Pussycats concert, a potential new love interest, Jay and Silent Bob being, well, Jay and Silent Bob, and a musical number that will be burned into your brain forever. Plus, could Jay and Silent Bob even help Archie to finally choose between Betty and Veronica? SNOOGANS!! Featuring legendary Archie artists Fernando Ruiz and inker Rich Koslowksi, this is a DOUBLE-SIZED, CAN’T-MISS event FOR MATURE AUDIENCES unlike anything we’ve ever done before! 

Archie Meets Jay and Silent Bob #1 arrives wherever comics are sold on July 9. It will be available for pre-order on April 25.

Hendry Prasetya and Matt Herms return with Mighty Morphin Power Rangers #121

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BOOM! Studios has revealed a first look at Mighty Morphin Power Rangers #121, the continuation of the Darkest Hour event, taking place after the bold and greatly anticipated Reunited, Recharged era of Mighty Morphin Power Rangers. Writer Melissa Flores and letterer Ed Dukeshire are joined in this special guest artist issue by artist Hendry Prasetya and colorist Matt Herms, the original Mighty Morphin Power Rangers art team! The continuation of this monumental 12-month event, available on June 26, 2024.

Billy devises a plan to delay Dark Specter, desperate to stop the growing infection from spreading, but the consequences of his risky idea are impossible to predict. In order to shore up his resolve for what’s to come, Billy seeks strength among friends new and old, but will it be enough to defeat Dark Specter once and for all?

Mighty Morphin Power Rangers #121 features main cover art by star artist Taurin Clarke and variant covers by acclaimed illustrators Björn Barends, Goñi Montes, Mona Finden, and a limited BOOM! Studios Direct Reserve exclusive variant by Mateus Manhanini!

Mighty Morphin Power Rangers #121

Preview: Archie Comics: Judgement Day #1 (of 3)

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Archie Comics: Judgement Day #1 (of 3)

Script: Aubrey Sitterson
Art: Megan Hutchison
Colors: Matt Herms
Letters: Jack Morelli
Cover: Megan Hutchison
Variant Covers: Francesco Francavilla, Jae Lee, Reiko Murakami
On Sale Date: 5/22
32-page, full color comic
$4.99 U.S.

In a world overrun with demons, Archie Andrews is on a quest to cleanse Riverdale of all wicked-kind. Harnessing the destructive power of a captive fiend, he will have to destroy corrupted and possessed versions of the people closest to him. Questioning his own morality and forced to make difficult sacrifices, are Archie’s efforts truly good, or the work of pure evil? Traverse the most horrifying version of Riverdale yet in the first Archie Premium Event.

Archie Comics: Judgement Day #1 (of 3)

Preview: The Cult of That Wilkin Boy: Initiation

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The Cult of That Wilkin Boy: Initiation

Script: Cullen Bunn
Art: Dan Schoening, Ben Galvan
Colors: Matt Herms
Letters: Jack Morelli
Cover: Dan Schoening, Luis Antonio Delgado
Variant Cover: Robert Hack
On Sale Date: 4/24
32-page, full color comic
$3.99 U.S.

Returning to the world of last year’s successful THE CULT OF THAT WILKIN BOY, Bingo is now a music manager—and the devil incarnate. He’s initiating others by exchanging their souls for stardom. But is this what he really wants out of life? Is this what he worked so hard for? Bingo embarks on a quest to return to his first love: performing music. But the road back to superstardom isn’t going to be an easy one, and it’s going to take a lot of souls to get there.

The Cult of That Wilkin Boy: Initiation
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